Girls water polo: Hersey downs Prospect as teams pay tribute to Rob Lindgren

FIrst place in the Mid-Suburban East girls water polo standings was on the line Wednesday night.

More importantly, the schools placed an emphasis of awareness for pancreatic cancer and remembering the late Rob Lindgren, one of the most instrumental figures in swimming in the northwest suburbs who died from the illness in 2018.

"When I was younger I swam in WHAM and Rob Lindgren was the coach," said senior Victoria Wrona, whose two goals in the final period cemented Hersey's 9-2 win over Prospect at the Prospect Natatorium. "So I got the chance to be one of his athletes. He had a really big effect on everyone on the team. This (event) is awesome. We get to remember him, be competitive and just play our game. That's what I love about PanCan."

Hersey coach Megan Brownley also swam for Lindgren.

"He was my club coach," she said. "l've known him since I was 14 years old. This was very special. I love seeing the crowd, the biggest we have each year. It's always a competitive game with Prospect, but this kind of brings the kids into a reality check that there are things bigger than high school water polo. While everyone is very competitive about this game, we just want to remind them to be grateful for the opportunity to compete. Rob was one of the pioneers for water polo in District 214. He started the team at Hersey in 1999. He was a mentor to me and taught me everything I know. He's the reason these girls can play today."

Lindgren coached the girls water polo team at Hersey until 2008 and Brownley took over in 2009.

Retired Hersey athletic director Dan Young was on hand for Wednesday's event.

"When I became AD (replacing Lindgren), Rob became the head swimming coach," Young said. "He organized a water polo club, with mostly Buffalo Grove, Prospect and Hersey kids. When they made it an official IHSA sport, he became the head coach at Hersey. This night is a great cause."

Hersey is off to a great start in the East, now 4-0 and 7-2 overall. The Huskies got three goals from sophomore Melissa Loch, two from senior Clare Corley and one apiece from senior Avery Born and junior Andrea Teves.

Junior Hersey goalkeeper Coco Schultz stopped double-digit shots.

"Coco was outstanding," Brownley said. "Even the Prospect coach came up to me and said, 'Who is that goalie? She's great.’

"Our shots were slightly off. I feel like we should have had more. But our girls kept shooting and enough went into the net to make it a win and that's what counts."

But the biggest win was collecting money and spreading the word for PanCan.

"The representative from PanCan of Chicago was here and spoke before the match,“ Brownley said. ”A lot four our girls swam for Rob when they were little and still remember him. It's just awesome that his legacy lives on."

Senior Raia Uvakova and junior Sasha Martschenko scored the goals for Prospect (5-6, 3-1).

"Absolutely a special night," said Knights coach Jackson Howenstine. "I was very happy with how we played. There were definitely some opportunities we had that we didn't execute on. But Hersey is a great program with a real strong history. I have a ton of respect for them. In order to be more competitive against them, we really have to bring our best game."

"We were just ready to go out there and try to show how good we are this season," Wrona said. "I finally got my mojo back and the passes were great to me. It all clicked."